Defending Their Love
by lostsoul512
Summary: I wouldn't call it love, but something is definitely in the air. When Jaina and Varian are sprayed with some enchanted perfume that draws them away from their dates, Arthas and Tiffin have to save the night. Based on a request I received.


**A/N: Hello, all! So, a few days ago I received a submission for a story about Arthas and Tiffin going to put an end to the lovesick madness that seems to be going around. I will be the first to admit that I stared at this for about an hour, ran that instance on about three characters, and swapped ideas with my friends on how to execute this. I finally managed to write up this little piece. I hope it doesn't disappoint.I feel it necessary to point out that this is a mild AU xD**

**Disclaimer: All rights to the Warcraft universe and characters to Blizzard. I DID just buy a really cool poster of Arthas, though. I'm going to hang it in my living room and make everyone sit around and admire him. **

**...**

The Capital City of Lordaeron was in full swing. The last remnants of winter were disappearing from the land, grey clouds fading away and the snow melting away from the streets. People were finally wandering out of their houses, taking in a breath of the crisp morning air without feeling as though their lungs were crystallizing on impact.

Each year, to welcome the coming of the new season, a huge ball was thrown in the royal palace. Prince Arthas Menethil always looked forward to this event, this year even more than usual. His life had become this endless routine, waking, training, reflecting, training some more, and getting all manners of lectures from Sir Uther, all before the sun reached its peak. But for the next few days, he would get a break from all of that as the kingdom prepared for the party.

There was a second reason he was so looking forward to the ball, and that reason was Jaina Proudmoore.

A smile graced his lips just thinking about her. They had been seeing each other on and off for since the summer, when she had more frequently been able to escape Dalaran and come to see him. Their meeting had been by complete chance; she had been shopping for some supplies, and he had been on his way to the Cathedral. Somehow, he thought, it felt as if fate had brought them together. He waited in anticipation for each and every stolen moment he could get with her, intent on never wasting a second of their time. Arthas had never felt this way about anyone in all his life, and tonight he intended on making sure she knew it.

A knock at his chamber door brought him out of his thoughts and back into reality. Setting aside the book he had been pretending to read, another overly dull tome about the restorative powers of the Light, he rose and went to answer it. He was met by the smiling face of a palace servant, a short, elderly woman that had to crane her neck just to look upon the face of the prince.

"Your Highness," she said with a slight dip. "King Varian Wrynn and Lady Tiffin Ellerian have arrived."

A flicker of disappointment coursed through him. He had been eagerly hoping that it might be Jaina arriving, and that he might be able to sneak in a few minutes alone with her before having to get ready. But it passed quickly, and he beamed back at the woman. "Of course," he said in a velvety murmur. Varian was an old friend of his; the blonde had many fond memories of days spent playing together as children, sparring and riding horseback across the grassy fields. As he got older and came to understand the events that had surrounded Varian's stay in Lordaeron, he realized how twinged with pain those memories must have been. Still, he cherished them.

As for Lady Tiffin, the noble to which Varian was betrothed, Arthas had only met her once, at the Winter Veil Ball in Stormwind a few months back. She seemed sweet enough, if not a bit outspoken for a noble woman. Now that they were older, they had started to make their courting more public before they would marry. The only problem was that Varian seemed to absolutely loathe her, and from what his friend had told him, Arthas could only assume that the feeling was reciprocated. Still, they put on a good performance, and sometimes in politics that was all there was to do.

Arthas made his way into the main hall, where Varian was standing with his arms crossed over his broad chest, looking annoyed, and Tiffin was looked anywhere but at him. "I dont know why you insisted on dragging me along, if you arent even going to speak to me," she was saying, flipping strands of her long hair over her shoulder.

Varian opened his mouth, intent on retorting, but immediately snapped it shut when he saw the paladin standing in the entryway. Arthas gave him a knowing smirk, but said nothing as he approached the pair. "Varian," he greeted, not bothering with any official titles, not when they were alone among friends. He clasped the king on the shoulder and bowed his chin in respect. "It's good to see you." He turned to the woman and flashed a bright smile. "And Lady Tiffin. Just as beautiful as I remember." He reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it softly, and grinned deviously at the blush that spread over her cheeks.

"Prince Arthas, you flatter me so," she said breathlessly, and he could have swore she threw a pointed look at Varian. When her brown eyes refocused on Arthas, she added, "Thank you dearly for opening your home to us."

Arthas raised his shoulder in a small shrug. "My home has always been open to Varian, and to all of Stormwind," he replied easily. He gave a serious look to his old friend, who turned the corners of his lips up in a small smile. But when Arthas turned his gaze back to Tiffin, it was with a devilish gleam in his eyes. "Besides, you've never been to a party here. We'll see if you are still thanking me in the morning."

…

Jaina Proudmoore was always, always late. Tonight was no exception. She arrived well after the ball had already started, teleporting right outside the castle doors in a sudden flash of light. Smoothing out the folds of her unnecessarily elaborate gown, and repinning a few strands of hair that had fallen loose, she took a deep breath and strode up the steps into the palace.

The party was already in motion, couples in their best attire spinning around the room as the orchestra played some upbeat tune, distinguished guests from all manner of places talking excitedly over the best ale that the dwarves could have mustered. At the head of the room, Arthas was staring out over the crowd. Even from across the floor, Jaina could see the look of disappointment he was half-heartedly trying to conceal. She instantly felt a pang of regret at having arrived so late. He had probably started to assume she was going to stand him up, when in reality she had just been so caught up in her latest reading assignment, she had very nearly forgotten all about having to get ready.

The young mage began pushing her way through the crowds towards him. With each step, her giddiness rose, until her heart was thudding rapidly in her chest. She hadn't even realized how excited she was to see him until he was there, in front of her, and all she wanted in the world was to step into his embrace and-

"Lady Proudmoore."

At the sound of her name, Jaina whirled around. A royal soldier stood before her, young and grinning, flanked by two friends. She offered a small smile in return, and opened her mouth to speak, but instead of getting any words out, she was met with a sudden cloud of perfume right in her face.

…

"We need to talk."

Arthas, who had been feeling more and more hopeless with each passing minute, did not bother to turn at the voice that appeared beside him. Lady Tiffin gritted her teeth and scowled up at him; what was it with royal humans and their infuriating habits? "_Arthas_," she snapped, her fingers going to grasp his shoulder in a bold movement.

"What?" He said, his own tone a bit too rough. When he saw that it was Tiffin before him, he sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I'm just...I thought Jaina would be here by now. I sort of had something I wanted to talk to her about."

Tiffin's brown eyes flickered out onto the dance floor. "Well, she's here," Tiffin replied hastily. Arthas frowned deeply, then followed her gaze. He sucked in a breath as he spotted Jaina, her head thrown back in laughter as a group of royal guards surrounded her. Hand clenching into fists as a surge of anger tore through him, Arthas took a step, intent on marching over there and putting those nameless nobodies back in their place. Everyone in the kingdom knew that he had been courting Jaina for months.

And her, traipsing about with her doe eyes, allowing any man in the vicinity to speak to her, and flirt with her, and brush her hair away from her face should it fall loose. The audacity of her, to embarrass him like this-

"Arthas," Tiffin repeated, her fingers wrapped tightly around his wrist. Her own stare was fixated on Varian. The young king was also surrounded by a group of noble women, who were all fawning over him, twisting strands of his hair around their fingers and pressing their bodies flush against him as they whispered things in his ear that made him blush brightly enough to be seen from across the room. "Don't just go running down there."

"Well, I have to do something," he growled. "I'm not just going to let some pathetic new recruit think he can sweep and steal Jaina from _me_."

Tiffin had to resist the urge to stamp her foot impatiently. Of course, she too wanted to go down there and give each and every one of those unsophisticated women a piece of her mind, for belittling the king of Stormwind so, for making a mockery of his crown and of their engagement. But she knew that if they wanted to get anything done, making a public spectacle wasn't the way to go about it. No, they needed to go to the source of the problem.

Turning so that her back was to the crowd, she slipped her hand down the front of her dress. Arthas' brows shot up, but when she scowled at him, he cleared his throat and looked down at his boots. After a moment, Tiffin revealed a small glass vial. "I managed to get this off one of the girls," she explained in a hushed voice. "I haven't gotten a chance to look at it much, but it seems to be some sort of aphrodisiac perfume." She turned the bottle over, smoothing her finger over the label. In an elaborate, curly font was written out _Crown Chemical Co. _

…

Arthas hoisted Light's Vengeance up over his shoulder and stared out at the run down manor before them. He couldn't believe that he had allowed Tiffin to talk him into this, leaving the party he had been looking forward to for months, strapping on his armor and riding all the way out into the country just so they could put an end to whatever was going on.

Tiffin pushed back the hood of her heavy cloak and gave him a nod. "We go in there, and we do whatever it takes to cease the production of this."

"Right," Arthas agreed. He kept trying to justify it as doing the right thing, because it really wasn't fair to unsuspecting victims to suddenly be hung up on someone they may otherwise have no interest in. But he knew deep down that this was solely selfish. The perfume made by this company had completely ruined his plans for the evening, and quite frankly he wasn't thrilled. This was supposed to be the night he and Jaina made their relationship official, and instead she had been flirting with his guards all evening.

The unlikely pair set off towards the building, their mission clear. As they moved in closer, Arthas stole a glance at the younger woman. "Why are you even doing this?" He blurted out, then immediately wished he hadn't. But Tiffin was giving him a questioning look, and he knew he had no choice but to explain. "I mean...I just thought you and Varian didn't really like each other all that much."

Tiffin's brows shot up, and for a moment the Paladin was honestly expecting her to lash out at him for being so blunt, but he was surprised when all she did was let out a few quick laughs. "Varian and I have been engaged since before I could speak," she replied. "And while he...has his flaws, he is still my king, and soon to be my husband. I respect him and all that those titles mean." She paused and flashed a grin at him. "And I will _not_ have some classless, crown-hungry noblewomen think that they can waltz in and forsake all the years I have spent in preparation for becoming queen."

It wasn't the sort of outburst he was expecting, but it was an outburst nonetheless, and Arthas had to chuckle at the conviction in her voice and the passionate spark in her eyes. It certainly seemed as good an explanation as any. Still, Arthas thought that there was something deeper in her brown eyes, something that gave away the true feelings she was working very hard to conceal.

…

As it turned out, by the time Arthas and Tiffin got into the chemical company, the Apothecaries had all been slain. The bottles of perfume and cologne were all smashed, and a mismatched group were all gathered around, fawning over a little pink bird.

The Paladin frowned deeply, glancing at Tiffin before strolling right up to the five self-proclaimed adventurers and giving them each a pointed look. "Uh...hello," he began unsurely. He didn't bother with introductions for either him or Tiffin, who was standing close by his side. "Is everything already cleared?"

Slowly, a human warrior raised his head and looked right at the prince. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. We already argued over the necklace."

Arthas frowned a little, but ultimately decided that he simply didn't care enough to ask questions. He turned back towards Tiffin and shrugged. "Well, that was surprisingly easy," he said. "Shall we head back, before they start to worry?"

The future queen of Stormwind nodded, and as quickly as they had come in, they turned back towards the door. After a few paces, Arthas paused to look over his shoulder at the group. "Would you like to come to a party?"

After a moment, the companions all nodded their agreements, and so they all set off back towards the Capital City. As soon as they entered into the main room, Jaina and Varian were approaching them, frantic and fearful looks adorning both of their faces.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Jaina said worriedly, echoed by Varian's deep voice asking, "Is everything alright?"

Tiffin and Arthas exchanged a quick, knowing glance, before Arthas said smoothly, "Everything is fine. Tiffin wanted to get some air, and I offered to show her the gardens." In a swift movement, he reached for her hand lifting it up towards Varian, as if to return his date to him. "She is a wonderful woman, Varian. She will make a truly fine queen one day."

The brunette's cheeks blared red, but he said nothing as he quickly bowed his head and then escorted Tiffin away.

At long last, Arthas turned towards Jaina, reaching out to place his hands on her hips and pulling her in against him. He bent his head towards her for a kiss, but stopped when she suddenly pulled her brows together, her bright eyes scanning his body. "Arthas...why did you put on your full armor just to show Tiffin around the castle?"

His heart skipped a beat as he tried to come up with an excuse. Cracking a grin, he answered. "I didn't want anyone to shoot me with enchanted arrows."

Jaina looked at him like she was honestly questioning his sanity, but she shook her head with a short laugh and went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. Arthas slung an arm around her waist to hold her close to him and kiss her back, full and hard on the lips. Only when they broke apart did they realize that half the room was staring at them. Jaina's face flushed with her embarrassment, but Arthas merely beamed out at all of the guests, holding Jaina in place at his side.

"I guess everyone knows about us," she whispered under her breath. Arthas didn't even bother telling her that he had a feeling everyone had already known. He was too happy to care. He had Jaina at his side, and now everyone in the kingdom knew that she was with him. The night had not gone exactly as planned, but it had all worked out alright in the end.

Turning his head, he pressed his lips to Jaina's forehead. Then he pulled away, bowing lowly before her and holding out a hand. "Would you do me the honor of a dance, Lady Proudmoore?" Normally, Jaina hated to have everyone's eyes on her, but in that moment, the only person that existed to her was Arthas. She curtsied a little, holding up the skirts of her gown in one hand and taking his own with the other. Arthas led her out to the floor and led her around the room, and everything was perfect.

_**end**_

**A/N: Well, that turned out hella longer than I had expected. I actually had a lot of fun writing this. Thank you so much for the submission. Feel free to send me more anytime. **

**Love, always, Skye xx**


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